u/Internal-Assist3376

I’m starting a degree in Architectural Technology and I’d like to spend those years doing something related to the field that can also make money and build useful skills.
I’m not really looking for generic freelance work. I’d rather build something scalable, ideally digital products that I can create once and sell repeatedly.

A few ideas I’ve considered:

1. 3D architectural environments/buildings for marketplaces like Fab or CGTrader

2. Revit/BIM products or templates

3. Digital design packages for things like garden rooms or small buildings, although I’m unsure what I could legally or responsibly sell without professional certification

If you were starting from scratch in my position, what would you focus on?
I’m especially interested in something that improves my actual building-design/BIM skills rather than just making random 3D assets.

Just finished Ultralearning by Scott Young. The idea that stuck with me is that almost nobody is ever taught how to learn. You pick up whatever habits school gave you and then use them for the rest of your life. That's me, and I'd like to fix it before I take on anything else.

I'll be upfront about the weak point in this plan: I don't have a particular skill I'm burning to learn. No exam coming, no language I need for a move. I just keep running into things I want to be decent at and I'd rather sort out the process once than fumble through each time. I know the obvious reply is "just pick something and learn the meta stuff along the way," and if that's your answer I'll genuinely take it. I'd just like to hear why it worked for you.

Things I'm curious about:

What actually moved the needle. Not the list everyone recites, but the thing that changed how you sit down and study.

What didn't. I have a strong suspicion this is where people disappear into productivity tools and elaborate note systems and never come out.

How you practiced it. This is the part I can't picture. Learning is a skill you can only practice by learning something else. Did you run a low-stakes side project as a testbed, or just apply it to whatever was in front of you?

Whether it stuck. Six months later, were you still doing it, or did you drift back to highlighting things and hoping?

No timeline yet. Evenings and weekends, roughly. If people are interested I'll post the plan I land on and how it goes.

Just finished Ultralearning by Scott Young. The idea that stuck with me is that almost nobody is ever taught how to learn. You pick up whatever habits school gave you and then use them for the rest of your life. That's me, and I'd like to fix it before I take on anything else.

I'll be upfront about the weak point in this plan: I don't have a particular skill I'm burning to learn. No exam coming, no language I need for a move. I just keep running into things I want to be decent at and I'd rather sort out the process once than fumble through each time. I know the obvious reply is "just pick something and learn the meta stuff along the way," and if that's your answer I'll genuinely take it. I'd just like to hear why it worked for you.

Things I'm curious about:

What actually moved the needle. Not the list everyone recites, but the thing that changed how you sit down and study.

What didn't. I have a strong suspicion this is where people disappear into productivity tools and elaborate note systems and never come out.

How you practiced it. This is the part I can't picture. Learning is a skill you can only practice by learning something else. Did you run a low-stakes side project as a testbed, or just apply it to whatever was in front of you?

Whether it stuck. Six months later, were you still doing it, or did you drift back to highlighting things and hoping?

No timeline yet. Evenings and weekends, roughly. If people are interested I'll post the plan I land on and how it goes.

From everything I’ve heard, architecture school is one of the most soul-sucking miserable experiences one can have in college. Of course I’ve never been through it myself, but this is what I’ve heard from multiple sources. I’ve been told that there’s a very toxic culture, that my mental and physical health will deteriorate and that it will be all for nothing because ultimately they’re just gonna teach me how to make modernist garbage. Again, I don’t know if this is true, this is just what I’ve been told.

I became fascinated with architecture years ago, mainly by observing historical and ancient monuments and being utterly mesmerised by them. I just knew that this is what I wanted to do. However, I don’t know if there is any school that will teach me this. Honestly what should I do? Should I go to architecture school, subject myself to modernist degeneracy for years until I become licensed, and then self study classical architecture? Should I just choose another similar degree to architecture- like architectural technology, interior design,?